Are you looking to add a decorative touch to your home, but are not quite sure how to do it? Well, you might think that it would be a hard thing to do, but really, there are many nice simple options to get the job done. One of those options is glass door knobs. They have a beautiful appearance and are a great way to spruce up the look of any dwelling space.

Glass door knobs have a fantastic look to them because of the many lovely ways that they can be cut and shaped along with all the beautiful colors that they come in. For example, you can get one that has a smooth, sleet cut shaped like a round ball that comes in a clear, crystal type color. Or, for something a little more elaborate, you can get one that has an octagon shape that is a bright violet color. If you want something that kind of falls in between those two choices, then another nice option is one that has a rosette shape and is an amber color.

In fact, there are just a lot of choices to choose from, including ones that have reflecting starburst centers, others that have a fluted design, and ones of all types of colors including baby blue, emerald green, and even plain white. Each one of these has a fabulous look to them and would be an ideal choice for the doors in your home. You could go with just one straight design for every door in your home, or you could change things up and go with different ones for the different rooms that they open into. For a great way to see the many glass door knobs that are available, do not head down to your local hardware store, instead just turn on the family computer and browse all of the online stores. It is a fast way to comparison shop and you will be able to find exactly what you are looking for in no time.

One thing to keep in mind when purchasing glass door knobs is that they are made to be used inside your home and not outdoors. You see, they are not as durable as other door knob options because they are made out of glass. So, if used outdoors, they will not be able to handle all the elements and might break under the harsh conditions. Also, when used indoors, make sure to take special care of them and buy ones that have a long warranty. Then, if they should happen to break, the cost to replace them will be covered by the manufacturer and not you.

If you are looking to add a lovely, decorative touch to your home, there are a lot of simple options to do just that. One of those options is fabulous glass door knobs. They have a fantastic look to them and would be a sure fire way to spruce up the look of any home, including yours.

Jennifer Akre, owner of many unique home decorating and design sites specializing in door hardware and accessories, gives comments and product information on

Putting flowers in your candle will add a unique look, while preserving your favorite flower.

Written by Expressive Candles

We have been asked many times, how to put flowers and other objects on the outside of a candle. So, we’ll be showing you how it is done. The most important thing to remember is to be safe. Putting anything on your candle such as paint, dried flowers, ribbon and other objects, pose a fire risk. While this is unlikely to happen with this project, we need to warn you before hand. We do not recommend burning any candle that has flammable material on it.

To start with, you will need a few supplies. First and the most important is a big pillar candle, at least 3″ in diameter. This will help keep the flame out of reach of anything you put on the candle. You will also need to have a small white votive, or the same color votive as your pillar, an old pan to melt wax in, a paint brush, dried flowers or herbs and ribbon.

Candle making is an art, and requires exact precision in the melting process of the wax. Luckily you do not have to be exact in this project. Place the votive in your old pot; you will not be able to use this pot for food ever again. Next place the heat on Low Medium to Medium heat, DO NOT HEAT ON HIGH. The only thing we want to accomplish here is to melt the wax down to a liquid. As soon as the last solid piece melts, is when you turn the heat down to low.

Next, select what you will want to put on your candle. If you are using flowers and leaves, make sure they have been pressed. Take the paint brush and paint some melted wax onto the candle where you wish to place the flower. Place the flower on the wax before it hardens. The wax will harden quickly, securing the flower in place. Repeat this step for the leaves as well.

Another great idea is to place a picture on the candle using the method of painting the wax onto the candle. You can use many different things, but they must be flat.

After placing all your flowers and leaves onto the candle, we will need to seal the. The wax in your pot may have hardened some, so heat it on Medium Low to get the wax melted again. Brush the entire candle with wax. This will seal the flowers in place and give it a smooth finish. You might have to apply several coats. But if you use a picture, do not brush over it, this will ruin the picture and you will not be able to see the picture clearly.

Last you can tie a ribbon around your candle to top it off. Another idea is to use the melted wax and paint small metal beads onto the candle for further embellishment.

This project can be done in many different ways, using anything from flowers, herbs, pictures to beads and glitter. But keep in mind the safety of your candle. We recommend not burning candles with flammable materials on them. If you do decide to burn these candles, use large pillars, as the sides of the candle tend not to burn down. Have fun and Enjoy.

About The Author

This Article was written by Michelle Gauthier – mailto:info@expressivecandles.com info@expressivecandles.com

03/03/04 – This article is copyright by ExpressiveCandles.com” target=”_new www.ExpressiveCandles.com.

Expressive Candles offers Scented Hand Poured Candles and a growing collection of Candle Decorating and CandleScaping articles.

The hunt for the perfect antique mantel for your home can be surprisingly fun, especially if you’re at all adventurous. While it’s possible (and a bit expensive) to shop around online for the perfect restored period antique fireplace mantle, you’ll find many gems in the rough sitting in dusty, crowded salvage shops and yards. And while restoring and fitting fireplaces is a job often best left to professionals, restoring antique fireplace mantels can be done by an avid do-it-yourself handyman with a good deal of skill. Even if you do opt for a professional restoration job (and chances are good that you should), you can save a great deal of money – and get a great deal of satisfaction – from discovering a hidden beauty in the back of a salvage yard, unnoticed. Just think of the stories you can tell!

If you’re considering going on a hunt for antique fireplace mantels for your home, take the following tips and advice to help you in your search.

1. (For wooden antique mantels) Check local safety ordinances to find out the required distance from firebox to wooden mantel. This may rule out taller antique fireplace mantels with overmantels and elaborate shelves if your ceiling is low.

2. Consider the period of your home. If you’re determined to be historically accurate in a restoration, it will limit your choices of available mantels. On the other hand, mixing architectural details from differing periods can create visually stunning rooms – if it’s done with a careful eye for detail and design.

3. Study the wood working and detail in your home for repeated motifs. In fact, do yourself one better – take photographs of details that are especially striking and take them with you on your hunt. Many of the carving details found in crown mouldings and door lintels were repeated in antique fireplace mantels. It’s not unheard of to find a wooden or stone mantelpiece with carvings that exactly match your existing wood working. After all, there were only so many architectural designers working during any one period.

4. Take into account the overall dimensions of your room. You want the fireplace mantel to be a focal point, not an overpowering attention grabber.

5. Measure the entire width of your existing fireplace, but don’t be strictly bound by it. Especially if you are choosing to hang a free standing mantel on the wall, you can get by with a mantelpiece that’s considerably wider than your hearth. In fact, you can incorporate it into a striking design statement.

6. Dress in scruffy clothing. Salvage yards can be dusty places. You might also want to take along a torch to make it easier to study details up close.
could be a sign of prosperity for you now.

Richard Billington writes for Westland London, a UK based company specialising in westlandlondon.com antique mantlepieces. Westland London offer a wide range of antiques from various periods of history.

For more info on westlandlondon.com/stock/chimneypiecestyle/ Victorian Fireplaces please visit Westland London.

As the owner of an Oriental rug gallery I have been asked certain questions so often from people that have either inherited a rug or were considering a purchase that I thought a few of these ideas may be of interest.

The most often asked question is, “Can I use a rug on wall to wall carpet?” Yes, over 40% of rugs purchased are chosen to add color, mood and a “look” to a room. The best wall to wall carpet to place an area rug on would be a shorter pile broadloom. If the pile on the broadloom is too long, the rug has a tendency to move around the room. A rug pad can be used to prevent this but on a shorter pile carpet, this problem is nominal.

The smaller the rug, the more places it can used in the home.
Here are some ideas for placement of smaller rugs such as 3 x 5’s, 4 x 6’s and small runners.
Entryway, side of the bed, end of the bed, in front of a dresser, placed in front of a small furniture group, as a wall hanging, draped across a dining room table when not in use (great for kelims and antique pieces), in front of a fireplace or completely covering the top of a table as a tablecloth.

When Turkish rugs were first imported into Europe they were rarely placed on floors. You can find many paintings of wealthy merchants or members of Court proudly standing next to their prized possession, draped upon a table.

Small runners work great in large bathrooms placed directly in front of a double sink.
Wide runners make wonderful wall hangings for entryways or alcoves with high ceilings.

Another important question for placement is age, condition and type of rug. Delicate or very fine rugs are not good choices for entryways in busy households. A rug with a “heavy body” woven with excellent quality hand-spun wool and vegetable dyes will out perform most other types for durability and resisting stains. As beautiful as many Chinese rugs are, I have not found them to be very stain resistant. I would say the same thing about the very finely woven Tabriz rugs with the white background or field color. The Bidgjar rugs from Iran, woven mostly by Kurdish weavers are called the “Iron Rug” for good reason. The pile on these rugs is so dense, the rugs are often very hard to fold or even pick up! There are many older Bidjar rugs still in existence which is a good testament to their survival potential.

I have found most rugs from Afghanistan very durable, including the Turkoman rugs. The first one I owned was my prize possession and survived vigorous games of inside ball playing with my German Shepard in the winter in addition to much activity with guests, family, etc. When I later sold the rug it looked the same as the day I bought it.

Do the colors in the rug need to exactly match the décor in the room? This is a big question and the answer is NO. If you were to carefully look over a hand woven rug you will find anywhere from two to fifteen colors. Many silk rugs have minimally 10 colors. It is not the exact colors that we care about but the overall look that appears to the eye when casually glancing at the rug.
For example, the smaller increments of color placed next to each other in a particular design can appear from 5 or 6 feet away to be another color entirely. I have seen a rug with tiny navy accents, placed near an entertainment center that was black and the accents in the rug appeared black. I have seen a rug without an ounce of purple work magically in a room with purple as one of the central design colors as the blues and reds appeared to create this color by their proximity in the design. The overall look is always the question. A very busy, detailed rug will often look much more subtle when viewed from across the room and sometimes one will only see the “navy” or “light avocado green” as the only visible impression.

Do silk rugs wear as well as wool rug?
No, they do not. A silk rug in not recommended for busy traffic areas such as an entryway, hallway, etc.
Silk rugs are unquestionably beautiful and work well to create an elegant look in a space but will never wear as well as a wool rug. They are great if one has a home wear shoes are not worn. They also make excellent wall hangings. The recommended spaces for silk are parlor, conversation area, bedroom, den or office if large enough to place the rug in a spot where traffic is minimal.

Other good rugs for a wall hanging are older or antique rugs and kelims and as these should never be subject to heavy traffic. One can have a local tailor sew a small fabric sleeve to the back of the rug which works great.

I actually have a rug on a small antique mission-oak table that I use for my computer. The top of this table was quite worn and I had a rug that fit perfectly. I enjoy seeing it every day and it covers the unsightly blemishes on the table top!

Can an Oriental rug be placed in a kitchen or bathroom? Yes, to both questions with one caveat. Your fans must be working perfectly as one would not want to subject a rug to excessive amounts of steam or grease. This choice would be additionally influenced by the size of the room, the bigger the better.
My recommendation for a rug in front of the sink in a kitchen would be a thicker rug, whatever its design.

Is there one country that makes the best rugs? No. There are wonderful rugs from many different areas. Iran is a county that is now producing some of the most gorgeous tribal rugs available on the current market but also at the same time, some of the most generic, displeasing rugs woven with dead wool and displeasing color combinations. Each rug must be evaluated for its own merits and as itself, period.

The basic idea here is that if your enjoy looking at the rug do not hesitate to be a bit creative in your placement. Hopefully, with this in mind, you will have some fun decorating with your Oriental rugs.

Penny Krieger is the owner of Paradise Oriental Rugs, Inc., located in the San Francisco Bay Area in Sonoma County. Her gallery at 137 North Main Street, Sebastopol, CA, specializes in tribal rugs and carpets woven with hand-spun wool and plant based dyes with a strong emphasis on Persian rugs. 707-823-3355
paradiseorientalrugs.com/ paradiseorientalrugs.com